Despite crowds of shoppers on Christmas streets, vendors still complain.

Two weeks before Christmas, many shops on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City) are already filled with Christmas trees and decorative accessories in a variety of eye-catching designs, attracting customers.

Having started selling Christmas decorations since the beginning of November, Mrs. Tin's shop (60 years old, a small business owner with a kiosk on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street) still has a lot of unsold inventory.

Over the weekend, the number of customers flocking to the street specializing in selling decorative items on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street (District 5) increased steadily (Photo: Binh Minh).

"In previous years, I sold continuously from morning till night, with cafes and restaurants competing to place orders, sometimes I couldn't even keep up with demand. Now, with only two weeks left until Christmas, the warehouse still has a lot of unsold goods, even though we've adjusted and imported less than last year," the female vendor said with a sigh.

Having been in the business of selling holiday decorations for over 20 years, this is the first time Ms. Tin has seen such a low number of customers buying Christmas decorations.

"Compared to last year, purchasing power has decreased significantly, to only about 40%," Ms. Tin shared.

Similarly, Ms. Tram (30 years old, a small business owner on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street) said that although there is a constant stream of customers, purchasing power is not as strong as last year, because people are tending to limit their spending.

"I started displaying Christmas decorations at the beginning of November, but sales were very slow. In early December, demand increased, but it was still lower than in previous years. With the difficult economic situation , people are being frugal when buying decorations, and many families are reusing old items from previous years," Ms. Tram explained.

Ornaments, small bows, fairy lights... are popular items because of their low price (Photo: Binh Minh).

Thinh Hung, an employee at a decoration store in District 5, said that it's currently the peak shopping season for Christmas. Customers are mainly individual buyers, purchasing items to decorate offices, classrooms, or homes. However, business is not much better than last month.

Entering the store, Ms. Quynh Tien (25 years old, residing in District 6) asked the sales assistant about the types of decorative bows. Ms. Tien said: "This year I'm limiting my purchases of ready-made decorations because I want to make them myself to save a little money. Right now, I'm just looking for a few small, sparkling bows to add a touch of sparkle to the wreath I just finished making at home."

Observations show that most customers choose to buy small decorations such as baubles, priced from 20,000 to 300,000 VND per box of 10 baubles depending on size. Other hanging decorations such as ribbons, bows, tinsel, and stars cost from 10,000 to 120,000 VND per item. Wreaths cost from 80,000 to 120,000 VND each;...

Wire-covered pine trees are a "trendy" item this Christmas season (Photo: Binh Minh).

Regarding Christmas trees, shops on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street offer trees of various sizes and materials at different price points. The best-selling type is the PE Christmas tree, ranging in height from 30cm to 1.2m, with prices fluctuating from a few hundred thousand to around two or three million dong.

However, with the recent trend of handmade Christmas trees made of velour wire, PE plastic Christmas trees are selling somewhat slower.

Conversely, craft supply stores, velour wire, and small decorative accessories are in high demand and selling out quickly. Many young people tend to make their own Christmas trees because velour wire is easy to work with, durable, beautiful, and makes a suitable gift for family and friends.

Dawn

Source link: https://dantri.com.vn/lao-dong-viec-lam/khach-vay-kin-pho-giang-sinh-tieu-thuong-van-than-20231217172928085.htm